EMPLOYEES across the North-East faced the quickwitted banter of commentator Sid Waddell when they took to the oche for a darts challenge yesterday.

Teams of workers played matches organised by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) North-East to highlight a campaign to improve adult numeracy and literacy.

Mr Waddell, originally from Northumberland, has commentated on darts championships for the BBC and Sky Sports for about 30 years.

He said: “Darts is a game based on simple maths, scoring and probability.

“Lots of people can do the maths when they’re playing darts, but they need to extend those skills to jobs.

“Take someone like player Eric Bristow, when he was 11 he couldn’t tell you the capital of France, but his mental arithmetic was incredible.”

Staff at dehumidifier and water cooler manufacturer Ebac, near Bishop Auckland, took part in yesterday’s event.

As the teams warmed up at the oche, Mr Waddell warned: “We operate a drug testing regime – we insist anyone with less than ten units of alcohol in their body at least pretends they are having a good time.

“My style is based on getting the most fun out of a simple game of darts, about giving verbals and patter, which is another life skill.”

Steve Hull, who works in quality assurance at Ebac, said: “It was strange playing with an audience and with Sid Waddell commentating. I agree games like darts help train the mind and keep maths skills I use at work sharp.”

Chris Roberts, regional director of LSC North-East, said a fifth of adults in the region have low numeracy and literacy skills.

And although people rely increasingly on computers and calculators, it is important workers in all sectors have those skills.

He said: “You need to read, write and use numbers in most workplaces, be it to use technology effectively or be aware of health and safety.”

Many sports fans and players may not recognise their own aptitude for arithmetic, but the LSC hopes its Skills for Life Get On campaign will give them confidence to brush up with formal training.

Mr Roberts said: “Most sports involve maths – working out league tables, overs in cricket, betting odds in horse racing, darts scoring – yet fans and players may not recognise their skills with it.

“People just need to apply it in a general sense and we have numeracy and literacy courses tailored to their needs.”

For information about courses visit direct.gov